Formed in 2011, Chvrches which is pronounced and written as "churches" in Roman form and stylised as CHVRCHΞS (though the name has no relation to religious views) are a Scottish synthpop band from Glasgow, formed in 2011. The band consists of Lauren Mayberry (lead vocals, additional synthesisers, samplers), Iain Cook (synthesisers, guitar, bass, vocals) and Martin Doherty (synthesisers, samplers, vocals).

Photo Credit: Ryan Muir

The band, before formation, practiced playing with demo songs written mostly by Doherty. After their agreement, Chvrches formed in 2011. Two years after their formation, Chvrches released Recover EP in March 2013, including their famous "The Mother We Share" and "Recover". Their debut studio album, The Bones of What You Believe, was released later on 20 September 2013, to widespread acclaim from music critics. During the year, the band was ranked fifth on the Sound of 2013 list by BBC, showcasing the most prominent new music talent. Two years after this, the group released their second album, "Every Open Eye", with more instrumentation after a huge upgrade to their studio, and was released on 25 September 2015, also to critical acclaim.

Photo Credit: Ryan Muir

Mostly deriving from the synthpop genre, Chvrches also incorporates indietronica, indie pop, and electronic dance into their sound.They are influenced by acts such as Madonna, Eurythmics, Throbbing Gristle, Prince, Tubeway Army, Robyn, Laurie Anderson, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston and Elliott Smith. The band writes, records, mixes, and masters their songs in a basement studio in Glasgow.

Photo Credit: Ryan Muir

The band will be featured this month at The Governors Ball in New York City, where they were recently photographed by Ryan Muir at the Highline.

Special thanks to Ryan Muir for allowing otsoNY to publish his photographs.